Commission, engineer resolve differences

Dozens of residents, friends, co-workers and employees gathered during Monday’s county commission meeting to show support for Franklin County engineer David Palmer.

Palmer, who has been the county engineer for 17 years and with the department for 21 years overall, had faced criticism from some county commissioners recently over the pace that road projects were moving.

Though it was unclear as to what level the criticism had reached, Palmer’s friends and colleagues rallied around him Monday as if his job were on the line.

No one specifically said Monday whether that was the case or not.

But more than a dozen people, including Palmer’s colleagues, his high school football coach, a former pastor and Palmer’s wife, spoke on the engineer’s behalf and asked the commission to keep him in his role as county engineer.

Following a tearful plea from his wife that recounted the family’s decision to spurn another job offer just a year ago so they could remain in Franklin County, Palmer choked back tears as he expressed thanks for the support shown Monday.

“I am overwhelmed at what’s took place,” he said, thanking everyone for being there on his behalf.

Issues seemed to have risen over the response time in which several road projects were being handled.

Following an hour-and-half long executive session Monday, which is a closed meeting usually reserved for officials to discuss the good name and character of an employee, commissioners emerged saying that differences had been put aside.

Palmer and the commission agreed that work would resume in all four districts in the county.